Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity

Gravity isn't the only thing this mediocre racer is missing.

Zero Gravity did away with two commonplace abilities from the original Riders (and most mascot racers): You can't lean into turns or attack opponents. Replacing these functions are various forms of "gravity control", but they're more like "manipulations of gravity you can't control". The worst offender is the turning mechanism.

This is the second stint of Sonic Riders we’ve seen, and while there’s decent potential for the racer, we’d be fine if Zero Gravity was also the last. There’s no denying the entertainment that could come from a blazing fast Sonic racing title, but the Riders franchise has tried twice, and both times failed to deliver solid control and a true sense of speed. There are decent concepts to be found in Zero Gravity, such as the ability to freeze time and go into bullet-time power slides, but when the game’s overall speed is on pace with a 50cc Mario Kart race (or DK Bongo Blast), there’s something wrong with the design. The level design is decent, the trick system is nothing more than hitting jump at the right time, and the gear upgrading is barely there in concept form, let alone a fleshed out design. It’s time to rethink the racing design, and go back to the franchise’s roots. C’mon SEGA, all we want to do is run fast...